Display-fixture.



J. T. CLARK.

DISPLAY FIXTURE.

APPLIOATION FILED SEPT.13, 1910.

1,046,735, PatentedDec. 10,1912.

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l'NZVENTElF-L EIAIMIES T. CLARK.

COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH CO..WASHINGTON, 04 c.

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JAMES T. CLARK, OF MONTREAL, QUEBEC, CANADA.

DISPLAY-FIXTURE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 19, 1912.

Application filed September 13, 1910. Serial No. 581,745.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JAMES T. CLARK, of the city of Montreal, in the Province of Quebec and Dominion of Canada, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Display-Fixtures, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to improvements in display fixtures for exhibiting garments and the like.

The main object of the invention is to provide a show-case containing a movable garment support or rack capable of hold1ng a large number of garments, which 'Wlll display the garments to the best advantage in a minimum of space.

A further object is to provide a rack which may be readily withdrawn from the case and revolved to display the contents but which will be automatically locked to prevent any movement which might cause a breakage of the glass walls of the case.

The invention. consists essentially of a suitable show-case having therein a movable support having at the top a revoluble rack adapted to hold the garments, sald supportbeing mounted upon a carriage which may be withdrawn from the show-case to exhibit the goods. Means are provided to prevent the rotation of the rack except at a predetermined point, and to prevent the return of the rack into the show-case except when properly alined.

In the drawings which illustrate my invention :-Figure 1 is a vertical longitudinal section of the device on the line 7-8 of Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a transverse section on the line 9-10 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a horizontal section on the level of the case floor. Fig. 1 is a sectional detail of the locking mechanism. Fig. 5 is a similar view showing the attachment of the steadying arms. Fig. 6 is a plan view of the locking lever.

Referring to the parts, 11 designates a suitable show-case having a door 12, said case and door being formed as much as possible of glass. WVithin the case is a false floor 13 below which the carriage supporting the garment rack is located. A suitable framework 141 is located below the false floor and on this framework a rail 15 is secured, extending from the front to the back of the case, the rail being preferably int-he form of an inverted T. The carriage comprises a central hub 16 having a pair rigid arms 17 carrying pivotally mount- 26 rlsing ed wheels 18 at their extremities adapted to travel on the track 15. A second pair of arms 19 are pivotally secured to the hub by pins 19 and extend at approximately right angles to the arms 17. At the extremities of the arms 19 are large eyes 20, of suitable depth, which surround disks 21 eccentrically pivoted on pins 22 secured to the framework 1 1. The pins 22 and disks are located in a line crossing the track at the exact middle of the carriages travel, and the arms 19 are of such length that when the carriage is at either end of its travel, the eccentric disks are turned inwardly and the centers of the pin 22, disk 21 and plvot pin 19 of the arm 19, are out of line. In this way when the carriage is shifted, the disks will commence easily to revolve within the eyes 20 and on the pins 22, until the carriage is in the middle of its travel, when the disks will be turned outwardly, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 3. This arrangement provides a very stable support for the carrlage and one in which friction is overcome to such an extent that the whole device may be readily moved with one hand. The arm 19 and disk 21 constitute a support or side brace of automatically adjustable length which adjusts itself to the varying distances between the pins 19 and 22 without noise or vibration.

The garment rack 23, proper, rests on a plurality of arms 21 which are connected by a central hub 25. The hub is revolubly supported at the upper end of a hollow column from the hub 16 of the carriage any suitable anti-friction device such as the two washers 27, being interposed. Fixed t0 the hub 25 is a tube 28 which extends downwardly within the column 26 through the carriage hub 16 below which it projects a short distance. A pair of diametrically opposite notches 29 are formed in the lower end of the tube 28. A small lever 30 is pivoted intermediate its ends below one of the arms 17 of the carriage, one extremity of this lever extending below the tube 28 and being provided with a transverse plate 31 adapted to enter the notches 29. The lower portion of the plate is produced to one side to form a short arm 32. The opposite extremity of the lever is provided with a tripping arm 33 extending the same distance and direction as the arm 32. A pair of stationary cams 34 and 35 are disposed at one side of the track 15, toward the front of the case and in the path of the arms 32 and 33. The smaller of these cams 34, is of such height that the arms 32 and 33 will normally clear it, while the larger cam 35, nearer the front of the case, is of such height that the arm 33 will engage the same'when the carriage is drawn forward. During the forward movement, after both arms 32 and 33 have passed the cams 34, the arm 33 engages the inclined face 36 of the cam 35 and slides up and out the fiat top 37 of the cam. This movement tilts the lever 30 and withdraws the plate 31 from the notches so asto leave the tube 28 and attached garment rack free to revolve. This unlocking does not take place until the carriage is in its extreme forward position and the rack is able to swing free of the walls of the case. The tilting of the lever at the same time that it withdraws the plate 31 depresses the arms 32 in front of the vertical face 38 of the cam 34. Any rearward movement of the carof breaking the riage, except when the rack is alined to clear the walls of the case, is prevented as at all other times the end notches 29 are out of register with the plate 31, and the end of the tube 28 holds the plate and arm 32 depressed so that the cam 34 will catch the arm 32 and arrest the rearward motion. When the rack 23 is properly alined, the notches 29 register with the plate 31 and the plate rises into the notches as the arm 33 descends over the inclined cam face 36, so that both arms 32 and 33 are able to clear the cam 34. In this way the rack is locked against revolution while it is being pushed into the case or drawn out and all liability glass walls of the case is eliminated. The false floor 13 is provided with a slot 39 to allow the passage of the column, and as the remainder of the floor is opaque, the carriage is hidden from view and the garments on the rack protected from damage or soiling by the moving parts.

It will be readily seen from the drawings that the garment rack besides being steadied by the arms 19, is also partially supported thereby and partially supported by the carriage, so that the weight is distributed over the framework instead of being concentrated in one point as has heretofore been the case. It will be obvious that, by reason of the action of gravity, the weight 011 the ends of the rack will be supported by the arms 19 and pivots 22, while the weight toward the center of the rack will be supported by the carriage.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is l. A device of the character described comprising the combination with a case, of a track therein, a carriage mounted on said track, pivoted arms extending from the sides of said carriage having eyes at the extremities thereof, disks revolubly mounted in said eyes, pivot pins passing eccentrically through the disks, a garment rack, and means supporting the rack partly'on the carriage and partly on said arms.

2. A device of the character described comprising a case, a supporting column, and pivotally mounted supports of adjustable length secured at fixed points to the bottom of the case at oneend and to the supporting column at the opposite end. 1

3. A device of the character described comprising a case, a supporting column slidably mounted in said case, a garment rack on said column, supports pivotally secured at one extremity to said column and at the other extremity to fixed points on the case, and means controlled by the movement of the column for lengthening and shortening said supports.

- In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of two witnesses.

JAMES T. CLARK. WVitnesses:

STUART R. W. ALLEN,

M. ENRIGHT.

copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

